Americans Bought Enough Guns on Black Friday to Arm the Marine Corps

Black Friday, a day of commercial consumerism. The lines are wrapped around the buildings waiting for the deals of a lifetime. While you might think most consumers are out there waiting for the latest new toy or the biggest TV, many buyers on Black Friday are buying something totally different.

Black Friday is apparently the day to buy guns. Lots of guns!

According to the FBI spokesman Stephen Fischer, Black Friday shattered the single-day record for gun sales – with 185,713 background checks processed in a 24 hour period. Fischer told Business Insider that nearly 400 more transactions were processed on Black Friday than in 2015.

Black Friday has predominately been the biggest day of the year for gun sales. Buyers can’t resist the temptation of the deep discounts. Gun ownership still remains a hot topic politically. While many breathed a sigh of relief that a Democrat will not be in the White House, many remain concerned about the potential loss of their Second Amendment rights.

As expected, gun sales skyrocket whenever Washington takes an anti-gun approach or states propose a law to make it harder for gun owners to purchase.

Gunmaker Sturm, Ruger & Co. claimed in its third-quarter earnings statement that demand for guns was stronger than usual during the summer, likely caused by election-related rhetoric.

The number breaks down to slightly more than two background checks per second, or enough firearms to arm each of the 182,000 active duty members of the United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi!

Those numbers ignore the 20 states that allow millions of licensed concealed carriers to forego background checks on each purchase, in compliance with ATF guidelines. Also, more than one firearm can be purchased on a single background check. That means the number of firearms purchased on Black Friday is likely more than 200,000.